Instructor: Dr. Leon James

i.It is the idea that women are more comfortable talking when
there is more than one voice going at once

b.According to Tannen, most people agree that men dominate women
and that women are at a social & cultural disadvantage.

i.Men interrupt women to display dominance

ii.Men use interruption to silence women

1.When men interrupt women, it is seen as dominant, powerful

2.When women interrupt it is seen as pushy, aggressive,
inconsiderately noisy

II.Interview with Michelle

a.Agree with both ideas

i.Women interrupt because they want to show interest and
cooperate in conversation

ii.When men interrupt it is because they want to show their
dominance

b.She feels that when men usually interrupt it is because they
feel that what they have to say is more important

c.Dad example:“Let
me finish.”

III.Unity Model

a.Unity model places Deborah Tannen’s views in the dominance
level

b.Unity level states that the male (husband) should NOT
interrupt his wife in a conversation

i.He should give his full attention

ii.Smile when she smiles, laugh when she laughs

iii.Anticipate her every emotion and show that he is 100%
interested in what she has to say

c.Michelle’s reaction to unity model

i.Unity would be nice but it is not expected

ii.Good for women because when they “vent”, they just want
someone to listen

iii.Arguments start when the boyfriend or husband tries to give
advice or try to fix the problem

IV.Why Michelle Said

a.She likes to be viewed as a good friend and someone that can
help

b.She is an accountant so she is engaged in meetings and works a
lot in groups

V.Conclusion

a.Gender and discourse reflects the dominance model but ideally
women want to reach the unity model where they would be able to speak freely
and openly without being perceived as being pushy or aggressive.

b.It’s good to speak and have men listen rather than them
interrupting or trying to change the subject.

Related Links:

1. http://www.hodu.com/conversation-communication.shtml
: This website is very interesting because it’s titled “Six Common Mistakes
That Spoil Conversations”.These
are examples of mistakes that injure the integrity of the conversation by
blocking its flow, creating frustration, and reducing understanding and
satisfaction.The six most common
types of mistakes that spoil conversations are: blabber mouthing, the
“take-away” and “me-too” syndrome, unsolicited advice, interrupting,
contradicting, and stingy contributors.The one that pertained to my readings was the interrupting.They described it as butting in before
your partner has completed the thought.Usually this is done because the interrupting people are impatient and
are afraid of not getting their thoughts expressed.

2. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1175/is_n2_v22/ai_6306687
: This website featured an article that was published in “Psychology Today” in
1988 and was titled, “Girl talk, guy talk: do men and women really have
distinctive conversational styles?”To sum this whole article up, it pretty much agreed with Tannen’s view
of the interrupting styles.There
was a big emphasis on how men tend to gear conversations towards what they are
interested in.With this emphasis,
women hardly talk about themselves or what they want to talk about.For the record, this is the dominance
of the man that is taking over the women.Something that will not work in a marriage that wants to reach unity.

3. http://pages.towson.edu/itrow/wmcomm.htm
: This is a website that answers questions based on the differences amongst the
genders in communication.These
are taken from the research on gender and communication by Dr. Beth
Vanfossen.She includes questions
that can be answered to determine the different communication styles in the
genders.He questions that were
addressed were, do men and women differ in their communication experiences, who
talks the most, who interrupts, what about gender patterns in formal group
meetings, what about gender patterns in informal group meetings, is there a women’s
language connoting uncertainty and deference, does it matter, what are some of
the ways women are affected by these patterns, are gender differences in
communication patterns related to power, some strategies solutions and
practical ideas.